Incumbent Telecoms and Unified Communications

At Ingate we've been talking recently about the evolution of SIP to Unified Communications. We've been looking at this topic for some time now, when several years ago we first addressed it as, "global SIP communications."

As our industry evolves one question keeps coming up: what is the future role of the incumbent telecoms on the fixed network? A key driver for UC has been a high demand for SIP trunking, which is fueled by the ability to deliver POTS service over the Internet and hence at a lower price. But this is accomplished by ITSPs, not incumbent telecoms.

So then, where will the incumbent operators fit in?

It's critical to understand that the incumbents need and want to be the operators they've always been. However, they cannot survive if their focus remains on delivering POTS globally. Incumbents need to deliver unified communication connectivity globally - that's their niche, and that's where they'll be successful.

For carriers their future lies in being more than a bandwidth provider. Incumbents must embrace Unified Communications as a business model because that's the best way, the most cost-effective way, a clear way for them to redefine their niche and ultimately generate revenue. This is how they will survive as operators on the fixed network.

Yet UC still seems on the brink of that tipping point. So what is holding back global Unified Communications today? Is it that UC is still blocked, still unable to reach outside of the LAN to extend to the mobile workforce, outsider users etc.? Perhaps we as an industry need to clarify what UC is, the benefits, and how to implement in a very simple, straightforward way.

And just as important, the incumbents need to jump on the bandwagon as well.

This topic will be addressed at the upcoming SIP Trunking Summit, which we're fine-tuning to address this Unified Communications outlook. Do you have any topics you'd like discussed at the seminars? If so send me a note at steve@ingate.com.